Week 3: Tomato, Dill & White Cheddar Soup

Yay! Made it to week 3! And another yummy soup. And this time I got to share it with my awesome girlfriends at La Tasa.


So Tasha picked out this soup for Wednesday girls night. It was an easy soup to make in the middle of the week, very little prep and cooked super fast. Also, I'm finally getting the hang of where to get ingredients at the best price. After googling "broth coupons" for what seemed like forever, I finally got the idea to go to a bulk store. Since I don't have a Costco membership I headed over to Smart & Final. Jackpot! Ya, some of the food is a little sketchy, and I'm not sure I would venture passed the canned foods items, but for tomatoes and broth, this is the place to go. But it you aren't convinced, here is a coupon for Swanson broth.

And then I felt the need for fancy ingredients, so I went to Whole Foods to pick out the cheddar. It was sooooo worth it. I picked out a sharp white farmhouse cheddar, and it was amazing. Went great with our red zin too, but I generally believe that everything goes well with a zin.

So, back to the soup. Really easy to make --can't wait to get an immersion blender though. I pretty much LOVE LOVE LOVE tomato soup. This one had a different flavor than what I'm used to with the oniony flavor from the leeks and cool taste of the dill. Oh, and then I dumped a ton of cheddar cheese into it and AWESOME. My girlfriend Cat made us some grilled cheese sandwiches to help us scrape up the soup from the sides of the bowl, and, of course, the wine. Even our friend's kid liked it (soup -not wine).

So I would definitely make it again, especially at the affordable price. Glad to have plenty of leftovers. It was especially yummy the next day too. Oh, and don't forget to comment about which soup I should make next. If your lucky, I might make it for you.

Directions

Saute leeks with olive oil until soft (about 3 minutes). Add in tomatoes, broth, dill, cayenne, and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 20 minutes, until tomatoes are very soft. Puree soup in batches in a food processor. Or if you are lucky, use the immersion blender and avoid the hot soup exploding on you like it did on me. Return the soup to the pot and add sour cream. I dumped a bunch of cheese in the pot and let it melt as well as garnishing with the cheese. But we are cheese lovers so I suggest you add cheese to taste or let your guests add their own. Oh, and my friends suggested I add garlic next time, but I'm thinking it would kill the dill flavor, so I'm fine with no garlic and didn't miss it.







Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Taste: 4 stars (1 = yuck, 4 = yum)
Prep: super easy
Cost: $16.95
Stores: 4

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil / from home
3 cups chopped leeks (about 4-5 leeks) / 2 @ $1.00 = $2.00 / farmer's market
4- 28oz canned, chopped tomatoes and their juices / $2.49 + $1.59 = $4.08 / Smart & Final
4 1/2 cups chicken broth / $2.79 / Smart & Final
6 tablespoons chopped dill / $1.00 / Farmers Market
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more to taste / from home
1 teaspoon salt / from home
1/2 cup sour cream / $1.79 / Trader Joe's
4 0z white cheddar / $5.29 / Whole Foods